This invention relates generally to bale wagons, and specifically to apparatus for use therein to engage and move materials across a support surface.
The technological advancement of farming has, like most other industries, been a gradual yet consistent process. In reality, the efficient production of many crops is limited in part by materials packaging and handling problems. Baled crops, of concern to the instant invention, such as hay were initially hand loaded onto a wagon, transported to the desired location, and manually restacked. The unreliability and cost in labor and time became, in many instances, prohibitive, resulting in the commercialization of semi-automatic bale wagons which drastically reduce the required manpower to move the crop material from the field to storage. Further advancements in machinery have resulted in completely automatic bale handling equipment which not only stacks the bales, but can also automatically form tied blocks which may be very efficiently loaded onto trucks for transport to remote locations.
The invention to be described below is to a unique automatic or semi-automatic stack forming machine which is particularly well suited for that large segment of the farming industry not concerned with the long distance commercial transport of bales. The machine does not form tied blocks, but does handle a large number of bales and deposits them in a sturdy, free-standing stack at any desired location.